Matthew Roth
Recent Posts
Chrome Bags Announces Same-Day Delivery by Bike Messenger in SF
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Chrome Bags has undertaken a new initiative to further root themselves in the local bicycle community that affords them much of their customer base: using bicycle couriers to deliver bags in San Francisco. Starting November 20th, anyone buying a bag in San Francisco by 3 pm will get that bag same-day, delivered by a hot […]
Which is the Steepest Street in San Francisco? Hint: It’s Not Filbert
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"Look kids, Coit Tower!" Photo: jinazaki One of my favorite memories from childhood was the first time my grandparents took my sister and me into San Francisco. We were country bumpkins who grew up on a ranch in northeastern Nevada and were mesmerized by the cacophony and tumult of the big city. My grandfather took […]
Some Bay Area Developers Ditch the Extra Parking Spaces for More Units
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When it comes to building new developments in the Bay Area, especially in San Francisco, the battle over limiting the construction of new parking spaces is pitched. Parking reform advocacy organizations like Livable City, which maintains a listserv populated by car-free and livable-city advocates keeping a keen watch on planning commission parking exemptions, have long […]
Eyes on the Street: Market Street Advance Stop Bars
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New advanced stop bars have been striped on Market Street between 10th Street and 5th Street. Photos: Matthew Roth It has been six weeks since the MTA started diverting private automobiles off Market Street, an effort to improve conditions for pedestrians, Muni vehicles and cyclists in the eastbound direction, while measuring the economic impact of […]
Santa Clara VTA Proceeds with Bay Area’s First Bike Share Pilot Program
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Despite the much ballyhooed talk by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom that his city will implement a public bike share pilot (two years of talk that has garnered numerous press hits), the first bike share program in the Bay Area will likely be implemented by the middle of 2010 in Santa Clara County by the […]
Will San Jose’s New Bicycle Plan Mark Shift From Years of Car Privilege?
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Photo: richardmasoner San Jose is on the verge of adopting its new bicycle plan at the next City Council meeting on November 17th, which, as anyone who has cycled in San Jose knows, would be a welcome change from decades of traffic engineering focused almost solely on automobility. "What I’m hoping we’re seeing here is […]
At CNU, Former Rep of Texas Legislature says “No Road Pays for Itself”
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Over the past two days at the Congress for the New Urbanism Project for Transportation Reform conference, attendees have called for transportation reform at local, regional, and national levels. In a panel debate about the future of transportation funding and the role of regional planning through MPOs, several speakers argued that the foundation of transportation […]
CNU Transportation Project Raises Bar on Planning for Livable Cities
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Photo: npGreenway The Congress for the New Urbanism’s Project for Transportation Reform summit in Portland, Oregon, has brought together transportation engineers, city planners, and transportation reform advocates to share best practice policies for reforming transportation metrics, funding mechanisms, and regional practices that isolate transportation planning from land-use and growth targets. The highlight of the first […]
This Week in Livable Streets Events
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The week could be one of the most significant for bicycling in San Francisco over the past four years, as Superior Court Judge Peter Busch will consider lifting the bicycle injunction at a hearing today, Monday. Stay tuned to our Twitter feed for live updates. Also, Streetsblog Editor Bryan Goebel and Reporter Matthew Roth will […]
San Jose Provides Model for Bay Area Growth and Transportation Needs
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Photo: pbo31 In our ongoing coverage of the adverse affects of traffic engineers’ over-reliance on automobile level of service (LOS) measurements, we’ve examined how new amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) would allow local jurisdictions greater freedom in choosing whether they want to develop their cities for cars or for transit, cycling, and […]
SF Plans to Act Quickly on Bike Projects When Injunction is Lifted
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The SFMTA is already surveying locations where bike racks have been requested and plans to add 750 racks as soon as the injunction is lifted. Photo: Dave Snyder. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and MTA Chief Nat Ford have made repeated promises that they will act swiftly to build out large segments of the city’s […]
News from NY: What We Can Learn from Times Square’s Public Spaces
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This used to be the scene of gridlocked traffic. A pedestrian plaza was carved out the the old roadbed of Broadway in NYC’s Times Square. Photo: berk2804 When Tim Tompkins took over as President of the Times Square Alliance, one of New York City’s largest Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), the primary concerns were the security […]